Simon & Caroline's World Tour 07/08

Fraser Island isn't the only sand island in town, just further south, west of Brisbane lies Moreton Island, so our wee treat was a day sail. Incidentally, it was first seen by Captain Cook who thought it was part of the mainland, as he did with Fraser Island - I reckon he must have been going faster than we are!

With a grey start to the day, we weren't holding out for much, we did get in a good bit of snorkelling around some wrecks, but alas the sand boarding was rained off. So, it was time to try the jet piloting, essentially a inflatable disc towed behind a fast moving vessel (piloted by skipper Joe who doesn't like going in straight lines, especially if you call him a sissy!) Much fun ensued, as you might be able to make out from Caroline's expression!

The yacht, "Solo", was built in 1955, holds the record for winning the most Sydney-Hobart races (from Boxing day, if you've been paying attention ;-) ), has been solo circumnavigated around Australia twice, and the world to boot. It was then used as an Antartic research vessel before being the first Whitsundays tourist yacht before moving to Moreton Bay. So we've been on a bit of floating Aussie history, still feels like Howard's Way to me though...

Tropical cyclone that is though! With concern for the waterproof-ness of the van through the night, we awoke to a stream, or rather white water rapids, beneath the van (good job we're not in a tent!) Seeking refuge in a multi-storey car park, and the dry cool air of a shopping centre, we rode the storm out before driving on to Surfers Paradise.

I'm sure it was once a surfer's paradise, but it's now more of a Blackpool on steroids, or a sleepy Vegas with fewer casinos. It doesn't do badly though, $2.2bn turnover, 200 high rises, and the tallest residential building in the world. All this learnt from our trip on the amphibious duck bus, which takes a little paddle up the river as part of the tour. They also mentioned that Schoolies week (30,000 17 year olds descend on the place to cause havoc) brings in $60mn, and that's why they put up with it, doesn't sound worth it to me!

I'm off to guard my wallet, there's too many businesses keen to relieve you of cash around here!

As you can imagine (especially if you read the blog / saw the video about the pool slide) Si was in his element. As for myself, after a bit of a nervous start (my thumb is still not completely recovered from that same pool slide!) I too had a ball. The best ride by far, called the tornado, involved sitting on an inflatable ring and being thrown down an almost verticle drop, with almost definitely some freefall, to then spin around a giant cone - all the while being sprayed with good old H2O, of course!

Simon managed to go on all rides, even an oversize version of the campsite slide. The difference being it was about 30m high, straight, and involved a drop as steep as can be, he even claimed to take off as he dropped!

With all that fun, plus all the stair climbing to get to that fun, we are two very tired cats who will sleep well tonight (even in our cramped, lumpy campervan bed!)

Sea World not only has a marine wildlife conservation side, but also manages to squeeze in rollercoasters and shows! With the Seal Detectives, Water Skiers (who accidentally fell off a few times, which made the show much better), and of course the jumping, splashing, human-transporting dolphins. They try to sell the dolphin show as mankind and dolphins living in harmony, I think it should be sold along the lines of "it's amazing what a dolphin will do for a fish".

Now, we've had a bit of rain over the past few days, but none quite as impressive as seeing this storm lurking over the hills as we had a wee stop. With flashes of lightning over the river, the clouds passed over accompanied by fierce winds and a noticeable drop in temperature followed by buckets of rain. As we were driving along there was a flash and the whip crack of a strike about a hundred metres away, now being a good physicist I know a car is the safest place to be, still scary though!

After the show there was some dolphin belly rubbing and then onto the marine tank to feed fish, sharks and turtles. I managed to make a bit of a spectacle of myself again as I got nervous at the last second and dropped my fish in the water - a disgruntled shark then splashed me ferociously leaving me completely soaked - much to the amusement of everyone else - that will teach me! I felt a little safer feeding the fairy penguins.

After the excitement of Pet Porpoise Pool it was on to Coffs Harbour's other big attraction - the Big Banana. It was similar to the Big Pineapple in that there is not a lot to it, aside from the giant, yellow concrete banana of course! Si was feeling a little traumatised by all the banana paraphenalia and especially by the many banana themed foods in the cafe. So the only way to put a smile on his face was to have several goes on the toboggan ride, which involved whizzing down the hillside and carreening around corners (I was advised to ease up on the brake after my first go!). A perfect end to another action packed day. And another day to be grateful that we are here having fun rather than back home working. Especially since St J's had the inspectors in today - hope it went well guys (rather you than me!! ;)

We're inland again, in Tamworth on the New England plateau and amazed by the variety Australia has to offer: waterfalls, rich green lands, red soil hinting at the red centre that lies beyond, glorious sunsets and thunderstorms at night that were so far off they couldn't be heard (thankfully!)

The valley is covered with vineyards, some with household names (Rosemount, Lindemans) and nearly everyone gives you the chance to sample and buy their wares, although with our limited knowledge of wine, we simply tried a couple, thought they were nice and bought them. No swilling the wine around to savour the bouquets for us!

To get us out into the country air, we jumped on the back of a couple of horses and rode off, well sort of. Caroline's horse decided he'd rather chew on the fine grass we were walking him past, and mine knew the ride inside out, when to walk and stop, and played little heed to where I may have wanted him to go. We did get to see a few Kangaroos, and it's surprisingly tiring given that we were essentially sitting down for a couple of hours. Sure do think it's going to be hurting tomorrow though!

We had a fantastic morning for being up in the air and the views were amazing. The valley below us was lush and green (theres been a lot of rain recently!) with rows upon rows of grape vines. We could see mountains in the distance (the great dividing range, I think). But the best view was looking down (and it was a long way down) at the animals the size of dots, we saw cows, horses and a few kangaroos bouncing along. The view upwards was pretty cool (or rather hot!) as you can see from the pic.
Sadly all good things must come to an end and so we began to think about landing. It was a bit hairy. We bounced along the ground several times before stopping but it then felt like we were going to tilt over with maybe some dragging. It certainly got the adrenalin pumping but we survived and enjoyed the obligatory post flight champers. It never tasted so good!
We were all done and dusted and it was only 9am! What to do with the rest of our day? We started with a gourmet breakfast at the Crown Plaza - just a taster of how the other half live.

After a refreshing roadside snooze we headed off to sample some more wine. We found ourselves in Tyrells, one of the oldest wineries in the Hunter in it's 4th generation of family ownership. These guys have been making wine since 1858 so they certainly know what they're doing. The tour of the winemaking process was very interesting and we will be appreciating our next bottle of wine just a little bit more now that we know how much effort went into making it. After the tour we were treated to some tasters and I am pleased to say that Si seems to be coming round to my way of thinking where white wine is concerned so I will no longer be forced to drink whole bottles singlehandedly! (I have been missing you Donna!). I also took a bit of a liking to the expensive, aged red wine - there is no doubt it tastes better - just a shame we can't afford it! After buying several bottles (of the slightly cheaper stuff, alas) we headed off to the smelly cheese shop (that's what it's called!) to spend some more money.

So the next few days will be spent consuming the produce of the Hunter Valley - wine, chocolate and smelly cheese ...yum!

The winding hilly road took us back to Katoomba, which we visited back in October, although the accommodation this time was noticeably down-market in comparison. (Yes, Caroline did pine as we walked past Lilianfels) The views this time were still impressive despite having seen them before, and it was still cold too, so no hanging around to see the sunset this time!

With our own transport this time, it was easier to visit the different viewing platforms and walks of the Blue Mountains, and after a few hours of walking and viewing we moved on to the Jenolan Caves, foolishly expecting the Jenolan Campsite to be in the vicinity. A steep winding road dropped us down into the gorge containing the caves, but with no campsite in sight. A check of the map showed the campsite 30km away back at the top of the hill. Nothing else for it but to stay in the hotel, with heater and a TV, ah such luxury!

So all in all it was a grand day out and worth the trecherous journey to get there.

The drive to Bundanoon across the tablelands was like something out of a British summer - rolling green hills with pine trees - only with the roads a little quieter, and the views stretching that little bit further. The sleepy hamlet of Bundanoon claims Scottish heritage, but not being a scratch on Maclean further up the coast, we made for Morton National Park and a quick walk into the forest.

Taking the longer walk, and the path less trodden, we reached the Fairy Bower falls, and whilst clambering over rocks to photographise, I slipped and got a foot soaking. Now it was whilst looking at my one sodden foot that I noticed the waving tentacles of three or four leeches! Now you may think I go on a bit about leeches, but they have one task in mind - having a suck on your blood. Also, unlike mozzies, they are fearless and aren't scared off by a wave of your hand or even a flick of a stick, just continue up your shoe relentlessly. They just hold on at one end and wave around until the find something to grab on to. To top it off, you can't even tell which end bites! So, the walk back up was fast, with frequent stops to check for leeches and tuck trousers into shoes. I'm sure at least fifteen of the critters made their attempts, but not a single one got to skin, woohoo!

The day was rounded off with a trip to Glow Worm Glen at night, with trousers firmly tucked in red leech spotting socks, we walked a kilometre down to see the little green glowing worms in their natural habitat, made even more fun by torch failure on the way back!

So after a 3km walk around the escarpment (that's a cliff to the uninitiated like myself), passing waterfalls at every corner, we started the descent to the coast. As you've probably guessed by now, Aussies don't do things by halves, and after a few kilometres of steep descent the van started emitting a funny smell, probably just the brakes on fire!

The bottom of the hill was Kiama, site of two blowholes, where the rock allows waves underneath and up through a hole. The larger blowhole looks like the Sarlacc (sand beast) from Return of the Jedi, and every so often a big whoosh is followed by a jet of water squirting up. The smaller blowhole is only about a foot square, but the water squirts higher and the whoosh is louder - it's also easier to hear without everyone oohing and aahing in the background!

Jervis Bay is actually part of the Capital Territory (for some reason they reckoned it should have a naval port..), so that's another state ticked off, not that we saw any sign that we'd changed state.

There were also some huge grey kangaroos nearby, about 2 metres tall, which are probably the males - easy to see why the zoos only keep the smaller, gentler female of the species!

With van fixed, the journey was back on, with camp for the night at Pretty Beach, which to be fair is actually quite pretty. We're in a national park, and the wildlife abounds, with the obiligatory Kookaburras, and a possum that appears to have decided it would like to try a curry. The best bit, however, is the herd(?) of grey kangaroos that are happily chewing their way through the campsite grass. There's so many, and they are so unperturbed by humans that I just about tripped over a little one on the way to the kitchen. It's a pretty cool feeling to know that if you open your door, chances are there'll be a couple of kangaroos outside, how much more Australian can you get?

Update: Either the possum is a practical joker, or there's a clumsy roo out there as something pulled the power cable out!

The crystal clear waters of Pretty Beach called, so the bodyboard was dusted down for the first time in a few weeks so that we could ride some waves once again. Pretty beach was a truely magical spot and as we headed down the coast to Depot beach in the same national park we were hoping for more. I made do with snorkelling in the shallow (about 30cm!) warm water, spotting wee crabs hiding away as I brushed past. Making an early exit from the beach in search of the loo made us realise that a camper with a toilet may be a good idea next time, either we're getting looser with the wallets, or we're just not made for real camping!

The drive to Hobart Beach was nice, especially as we saw a joey poking out of his mum's pouch! Most of the journey was on gravel roads, which we are braving more often as we haven't had any screws fall out for a while. We have also noticed another pleasing reward from all the bumps - the dvd/ cd player seem to have suddenly started working. Bonza!

The journey to Victoria did see us making an expensive shopping stop at Merimbula where I bought some flip flops, and Simon got a new camera - I wonder who got the better deal there!

We also stopped off at a wee town called Eden which boasts an illustrious whaling history. A strange past to be proud of you may say but this town has two unique tales to tell, which we learned of in the Killer Whale Museum. The first tale is about Old Tom, a killer whale who with a couple of his mates used to lead the human whalers to a poor unsuspecting whale victim. After the whalers had harpooned the whale, the killer whales were allowed to eat the whale's tongue and lips! (I didn't say it was a nice story!) The skeleton of Old Tom is on display in the museum, and you can even see his worn down teeth from where he pulled the harpoon rope (you have to look very closely at the picture to see that!)

If left feeling a little upset by that story you may feel a sense of whale justice from this next story. Whaling was a dangerous job and a couple of men were once knocked out of their boat by a thrashing whale never to be seen again. Or so everyone thought... Unfortunately the whale didn't escape. After he was killed and brought ashore, when they began to cut him open they found one of the missing men. He had been inside the whale for about 15 hours and was still alive. Just. His skin had turned a very pale white, along with his hair. He was blind and unconscious for a while but he lived to tell the tale for a few more years.

One last strange morsel of whale info to leave you with; apparently people with rhuematic problems used to sit inside a hole cut into a whale carcass for up to two hours because of the healing benefits of this. Yuck!

We were making good progress, then Caroline suddenly stopped and jumped back, having nearly stood on these two snakes, having some form of wrestling competition in the middle of the path. Now the warning signs say to just back away from snakes if you see them, which we did, but the snakes didn't read their part of the sign where they also slither off into the undergrowth. With us making lots of noise, and even chucking things near, (and accidentally on, which got them understandably irate and us fleeing) they didn't budge. After we took a muffin break, they finally moved on, leaving us to finish our walk with a wary eye at each tree root that crossed the path. I'm sure the snakes we saw weren't poisonous, but Australia has something like 8 out of the world's 10 most poisonous snakes, which in my mind translates to 8 out of 10 snakes are poisonous, who said fear was logical?

So, we managed to finish the walk, getting to where we would have started our intended walk, so I'm sure it was stupendously beautiful just over the hill...

We failed in our attempts to experience some white water rafting when a rather rude woman informed Si that they were "chock o' block" with kids!? A further phone call did not prove much more enlightening but we have deduced that it is not the right time of year and so there is not enough water in the river. Hopefully, an activity to look forward to in New Zealand.

Our thoughts turned instead to the daily task of finding just the right place to set up camp for the night. A tempting ad had caught our eye: Mingling Waters promised a waterside location, a tranquil setting, good food and interesting walks. Unfortunately, the campsite did not quite live up to expectations largely due to a pungent sulphor smell emitting from the nearby river. It was this continuous and overpowering smell which prompted us to rename the place Minging Waters!

Passing through the villages, there's a distinct difference in Victoria compared to New South Wales - it has an older more permenant feel than the outback pioneer feel of New South Wales. That might be due to the convenient discovery of gold 9 days after Victoria became a state, and with more gold found than in California, they must have had a fair bit of cash floating around!

The peninsula is famed for the number of wombats, and on our first walk to the beach we weren't disappointed, as turning a corner a blonder than expected wombat was making it's way across the path. They're funny short stumpy creatures, a bit like a brown stocky badger, and for Aussie wildlife, they're quite timid when they realise you are there.

The beach had some cool sandstone cliffs, with what looked like sand falls where the sand tries to fall down off the cliff, but during it's descent is blown back up by the wind to the top again. A couple more beaches later and we were ready to soak up a sunset, with Wilsons Prom being the only place East Aussies can see it set over the sea. I also discovered a sunset cheat mode on my new camera that turns the vaguest orange hue into the most glorious sunset imaginable... er, actually they're all real, honest! ;-)

It did give us the chance to stock up on energy bars for our climb of the day up to the granite peak of Mount Oberon that looms over the campsite, and promised views of much of the Prom. Suffice it to say, our preparations of all weather gear and food for the day were a bit over the top, as were my expectations of a peaceful vista of the unspoilt countryside. Once we'd passed the phone masts (the link with Tasmania, so I guess our blogs will be flying through here soon!) we were given tantalising glimpses of the landscape, as the low morning clouds drifted by. We didn't have to wait long before the clouds burned off, and the impressive landscape presented it's true glory. The park is quite different to the Australia we've seen so far, with its huge granite outcrops sticking out of green forests there is more than a passing resemblance to Yosemite - albeit with less threatening wildlife in the form of Wombats!

With our legs feeling like we couldn't possibly walk anymore we set off for Philip Island, home of the parade of the penguins. This experience was one of the highlights of my previous visit to Oz so I was looking forward to repeating it. Southern Australia is home to huge colonies of the very cute Little or Fairy Penguins (which proves to the geography buffs that this continent was at one stage, albeit millions of years ago, joined to the Antartic). Every night, shortly after sunset, these little guys waddle in from the sea and make their way to their burrows. It is magical to watch the first few rock up, they seem a bit dazed and confused as if they have got the time wrong or something, but then hundreds of their friends begin to emerge from the sea beside them. And when there is a large enough group for them to feel brave enough to make that treacherous journey across the beach, past the nasty seagulls, they begin their comical stop start waddle. Whilst they are lovely to watch, even more special is watching the chicks emerge from their burrows to wait for their parents to arrive home. You get a sense of the hunger these little guys must be feeling from the squawking racket they make. Not to mention the accosting of every adult penguin that goes past. But it is only when an adult penguin is certain that the demanding chick does actually belong to them that they surrender their catch of fish. The whole "Penguin Parade" set up may be terribly commerical but that doesn't detract from the magic of watching these little guys. I'm looking forward to seeing more later as we drive along the Great Ocean road.